Liverpool and his friends had declined taking office with that Government; and also that he himself had not thought it necessary, upon that refusal, to give the thing up altogether: but his choice had been a Government composed of mixed elements; and his opinion was still, that if the Catholic Question was to be carried, it would be carried by an Administration which made it, not a government question, but a general one. He did still hope that the prejudices of Englishmen might in time be reasoned down; and that in time the Catholic Question might find that support in the country which, he was sorry to say, he did not think it found at present. But, by whatever hand, or whatever period, that question should be brought forward, it would receive from him, whether in or out of office, the best support which he was able to give it. But it would still find him believing, that nothing was to be gained by attempting to carry the point in the way of a government question; and that (if that were necessary) there did not, moreover, exist materials at the present moment sufficient to form an Administration concurring upon that subject, and upon others also on which it would be necessary for them to agree.

He had said, and he meant to keep his word, that he would not travel into any part of the speech from the throne, which had not been touched upon by the honourable and learned gentleman. There was one most important point in it, which he should therefore leave at rest, feeling that it was not because its value was underrated, that it had for the present been passed over by the gentlemen on the other side. The speech of the honourable and learned member opposite, had gone chiefly to matters of foreign policy; and he had endeavoured to explain to the House the course which, upon that head, Government had pursued. The speech from the throne contained an account by Ministers

of their stewardship, and of the policy which they had pursued since the House had last met; and if, upon that statement, they did not come forward to challenge approbation, at least they were prepared to meet criticism without dread or apprehension.

The Address was agreed to nem. con.

DELAYS AND EXPENCES IN THE COURT OF CHANCERY.

FEBRUARY 24th, 1824.

MR. J. WILLIAMS this day submitted the following Resolution :-"That a Committee be appointed to inquire into the Delays and Expences in the Court of Chancery, and the causes thereof."

MR. SECRETARY CANNING* observed, that after the recommendation with which the honourable and learned gentleman who had just sat down, had concluded his speech, it was not his intention to trespass long upon the time and patience of the House. But, as the speeches of two of the honourable and learned members who had followed his right honourable colleague, the Secretary for the Home Department, appeared to turn almost entirely upon the effectiveness and sincerity of the proposed commission, he thought that it would be satisfactory not only to the House, but also to the country at large, to have an assurance, not only on the part of the noble lord who was thought to be most interested in this question, but also on the part of others of His Majesty's Ministers-an assurance which, for his own part, he most willingly gave that the inquiry into which that commission was to enter should be as sincere,

as impartial, and as effectual as it was possible for man to make it. Even if any disposition existed to trifle with so important a subject, honourable gentlemen must be aware, that no Government, in the present enlightened state of the age, could, after consenting to institute an inquiry, conduct it in such a manner as to prevent it from arriving at a salutary and beneficial result. He, therefore, was of opinion, that to anticipate a satisfactory and auspicious conclusion to the labours of the commission, would be more consistent with candour and good feeling, than to augur nothing but disappointment, mockery, and deception. The points into which the commission would be more particularly instructed to inquire would be, first, whether it was possible to lessen the time consumed; and, secondly, whether it would be possible to lessen the expence incurred, by suits in equity. The third point, which was, perhaps, the most important of all, would be, whether any portion of the business now discharged by the Lord Chancellor of England, could, without detriment to the public, be turned over to any other; and if to any other, to what public officer? These points would form the principal subjects into which the commission would have to examine; and he now stated them, not with any view of giving an opinion as to the results at which it was probable that the commission might arrive, but with a view of assuring the House, that into each and all of them examination would be instituted, in a spirit of most perfect sincerity, and with the most anxious desire on the part of Government to give full effect to any recommendations which it might conceive necessary to make.

With regard to the constitution of the commission, upon which, after what had fallen from the honourable and learned gentleman who had spoken last, he might be expected to offer a few remarks, he would simply observe,

that though it might not be difficult for him to describe the elements, still it would be difficult for him to name the exact individuals of which it was to be composed, because some of those persons on whom Government might be inclined to impose this duty might, for various reasons, be not altogether disposed to undertake it. This, however, he could state, that it was the desire of Government to place in this commission individuals who were best qualified, by their age, knowledge, and long experience in legal matters, to discharge its functions ably and effectually-who, from their rank in life, would be enabled to declare their opinions without fear, favour, or partiality, and who, from their past services to the state, would have authority sufficient to recommend their decisions to the favourable consideration of the House and the country. The honourable and learned gentleman who had spoken last, after hinting his dislike to this commission, and his doubts as to its efficacy, had cursorily observed, that he should like the scheme of it better, were it to comprehend within its range the various abuses in the courts of common law. He asked the House whether, if his right honourable colleague's proposition had gone that length, it would not have been asserted that the object of it was to divide blame by diffusing it over a larger surface, and to encumber inquiry by multiplying the subjects to which it was to be directed? His right honourable colleague had confined the inquiry within the limits he had mentioned, in order to render it more effectual; not precluding the like inquiry into any other part of the system that was encumbered with the same defects, but directing it to certain defined and positive evils, in the hope of being better enabled thereby to remedy and remove them: In doing so his right honourable friend was but fulfilling the intentions of the different members of His Majesty's Government; and the House might,

therefore, rely, not only on the proper formation of the commission, but also on the proper execution of its duties, especially when it recollected, that over both it could exercise a most speedy and efficient controul.

As he had said thus much upon the formation of the commission, he conceived that it would be most unfair to the noble and learned lord who was at the head of the Court of Chancery, to let it be supposed that the project of this commission had originated from any wish on his part to elude the present motion. It was not always prudent to examine too deeply into the springs of human action; in most cases it would be seen that the noblest deeds had sprung out of motives of a mixed nature. He would not, therefore, say that this commission would have been formed had the subject of it never excited parliamentary discussion but this he would say, that it had not been devised to meet the peril of the present day, or to get rid of the present motion on the contrary, the date of its being first thought of was as old as the report of the House of Lords last year, in which the very elements of the present inquiry were distinctly pointed out; in which this very scheme was almost expressly mentioned; and with which, as the object of it more particularly fell under his department, his right honourable friend and colleague had been occupied during the greater part of last summer. Had the formation of this commission been announced to the House at the time that the honourable and learned member for Lincoln gave notice of his present motion, His Majesty's Ministers would have been exposed to the same imputations that were now thrown out against them, and also to the additional imputation, that it had been announced because they were afraid to meet the motion on its intrinsic merits.

It was only due to the honourable and learned member